Mary S. Engelman
Highland Park, Ill. — Mary Straus Engelman, 98, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, in her Highland Park, Illinois home, surrounded by her large loving family.
Mary was born in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago on Aug. 6, 1914, the youngest child of Samuel J. T. Straus and Lillie Wolfe Straus. Her older brothers Frederick and Tilden predeceased her.
At the Latin School in Chicago, Mary was a good student who excelled in sports and was named Best Female Athlete of her graduating class. She also spent many happy childhood summers at Camp Agawak in Minocqua, Wis., and with her family in Charlevoix, Mich. After high school, Mary attended Pine Manor Junior College in Boston and Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
At a Dartmouth-Harvard football game in 1933, Mary met a dashing young Dartmouth College student named Robert (Bob) Engelman. After a four-year courtship, they married in 1938 and celebrated 64 years together before Bob’s death in 2002.
Mary was an enthusiastic bridge player and a talented tennis player. She was also an avid skier who spent many winters at the family vacation home in Vail, Colo. Together with Bob, she travelled the world, visiting at one time or another, all seven continents.
For many years, Mary volunteered at Highland Park Hospital, served on various PTAs, was a Cub Scout Den Mother, Brownie and Girl Scout Troupe Leader and an officer of the Moraine Girl Scout Council.
But her proudest accomplishments were her five children: Tilden (Denny), Robert Jr., Steve, John (of Hanover), and Mary (Scooter Hathorn of Thetford), her 18 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. She was devoted to them and they doted on her, providing many joy-filled hours for all, especially in her later years.
Private services have been held. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Engelman Family Scholarship Fund, 6066 Development Office, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, or to the charity of one’s choice.
